Lady in hiding?

VIP excuses

Now it can be told. The Ministry of External Affairs was in a flap last month after it received a request for visas at short notice for some VIPs from Pakistan. The occasion was the wedding of Sonia Gandhis political secretary Ahmed Patels only son Faisal that was being held in the Capital. The guests from Pakistan were related to the bride,Zainab Nedou,who is from the Nedon family in Jammu and Kashmir that own a chain of hotels in the state. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullahs mother also belongs to the Nedon family. Following the requests,red flags went up when some of the invitees from across the border did not show up for the wedding,claiming that they could not do so because of issues relating to visa clearances. However,the matter ended on an all is well note when it was discovered that the invitees were themselves to blame and had only used the visa issue as an excuse for their non-appearance.

The Empire Strikes Back

There was no love lost between the then Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath and the Planning Commission,which he had infamously called an armchair advisor. Specifically,Kamal Nath had ensured that there was little interference from Gajendra Haldea,adviser to the Plan panels deputy chairman,who demanded more accountability in the bidding process,but was seen as a stumbling block in award of projects. With a change of guard at the ministry,Haldea is back in the driving seat. He is said to be busy drafting a new model concession agreement MCA for road projects under engineering,procurement and construction EPC mode to replace the current EPC contract system modelled on what is used by the Public Works Department. Towards this end,he has already held consultative meetings with developers. While his Rajasthan connection seems to have helped him strike a chord with C P Joshi,the new roads minister,officials at the ministry claim they are completely unaware of the new MCA,though may yet end up implementing it.

Join the queue

The corporate high fliers in the aviation sector dont seem to be too enthused by the change of guard at the civil aviation ministry. Their access has been restricted by new Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravis office,which insists on the formal process of seeking appointments well in advance. This has come as a shock to many who were hitherto used to a more accessible Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan. Ravi,who is busy with elections in Kerala,has not been seen at the ministry for the last fortnight. Meanwhile,the queue of people waiting to meet him is increasing; it also includes diplomats from various countries who are trying to get a decision on air bilaterals.

The Hazare show

As Anna Hazare continues his fast for a larger cause from Jantar Mantar,the accompanying visual media attention has thrown up an opportunity for all sorts of visitors. For instance,a woman materialised at the protest site with two daughters,both less than 10 years. They were holding a placard: Mam sorry! I cant do my home-work today because I have come to see Anna Hazare. Meanwhile,the protest site is still out of bounds for politicians. That Om Prakash Chautala and Uma Bharti were sent back is well known. What is not so well known is that the less recognisable Rajya Sabha member and Samajwadi Partys national spokesperson,Mohan Singh,managed to get in. Singh,in fact,also sent a slip to Hazare indicating his presence in the crowd and still further managed to exchange greetings with him. Ironically,the

next day,he went on to oppose the protest. No wonder politicos are being given short shrift by the protesters.

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